Chapter 7 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it. In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall. Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes. ‘Stop, please!’ But I was not to be stopped.
Chapter 7 of The Beetle: A Mystery is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading “Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.”
strike out (a batter), (of a pitcher)
From this reading “Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.”
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.”
rebuffed (by a lover) without warning
From this reading “REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.”
the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
From this reading “Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.”
a step in walking or running
From this reading “Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.”
arousing affect
From this reading “Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.”
an assured victory (especially in an election)
From this reading “REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
later than; following
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But I was not to be stopped.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I was not to be stopped.
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
strike out (a batter), (of a pitcher)
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But I was not to be stopped.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading ‘Stop, please!’
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
rebuffed (by a lover) without warning
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading ‘Stop, please!’
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading But I was not to be stopped.
a step in walking or running
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But I was not to be stopped.
arousing affect
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
in the direction of
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
an assured victory (especially in an election)
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading REJECTED It was after our second waltz I did it.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading In the usual quiet corner,--which, that time, was in the shadow of a palm in the hall.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Before I had got into my stride she checked me,--touching my sleeve with her fan, turning towards me with startled eyes.
Chapter 7 of The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh holds 148 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 7 holds 148 sentences of The Beetle: A Mystery, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 sentences, grouped into 30 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 7 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6966 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5164, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 580 minutes of reading across 1394 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beetle: A Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Beetle: A Mystery to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Beetle: A Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
